How To Travel To Europe In Business Or First With Points From Australia

In this post, I’ll be covering what’s possibly the hardest country on the list, Canada. Unlike travelling to Asia, America and the Middle East, Australian travellers don’t have too many choices when it comes to non-stop services.

Air Canada

Air Canada is definitely the most known carrier that’s travelling from Canada to Australia. The airline now operates to Brisbane with their 787-9 and it features their brand new B/E Super Diamond Business Class suites. The carrier also operates to Sydney but with a 777-200LR. So what are the best points to use for Air Canada?

Aeroplan charge 80,000 points one-way

Avianca Lifemiles charge 80,000 points one-way

United MileagePlus charge 80,000 points one-way

Singapore Airlines Krisflyer charge 97,500 points one-way

Air Canada 787 Business Class (Image – Air Canada)

As you can see, the product is absolutely stunning. The airline runs daily from both Brisbane and Sydney into Vancouver. The flight arrives early in the morning and means connections are able to be made easily.

Air Canada 787 Business Class (Image – Air Canada)

Air Canada Business Class space is very limited to and from Australia but if you’re booking with Aeroplan you’ll have more access to award space.

Qantas

Qantas is the only other carrier that flies to Canada non-stop however, the service is only seasonal. The service runs from mid-December to late January for peak season.

The airline runs services a few times weekly from Sydney into Vancouver with the 747-400. It’s a 3 class aircraft and it features the carriers Skybed Mark ||’s. What points should I use for Qantas Business Class?

American Airlines AAdvantage charge 82,500 points one-way

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan charge 55,000 points one-way

Qantas Frequent Flyer Charge 96,000 points one-way

Qantas 747-400 Business Class (Image – Qantas)

Now I should disclose that getting a Business Class award on Qantas to Vancouver is extremely difficult unless you have Platinum or Platinum One status and are able to open a seat. Otherwise, I would heavily advise using Expertflyer to set alerts for U class fares and if that doesn’t work I would look at upgrading.

Qantas 747-400 Business Class (Image – Qantas)

Unfortunately, these are Australia’s only direct services to and from Canada but there are a ton of ways to get there if you’re willing to connect somewhere.

connecting from a USA flight is quite easy and they have many flights to choose from. It’s also good that the most flights departing Australia arrive into the United States in the morning making it easier to be flexible with a connection into Canada.

The other great way to connect into Canada is via Asia. Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines run services per into Canadian ports like Vancouver and Toronto.

As an example, here’s how many points it would cost to fly Cathay Pacific Business Class from Hong Kong: (refer to the linked Asia article above for the Australia – Asia legs, these prices are for Hong Kong – Vancouver/Toronto only)

American Airlines AAdvantage charge 72,500 points one-way

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan charge 50,000 points one-way

Qantas Frequent Flyer charge 92,000 points one-way

Cathay Pacific Business Class

Even though the non-stop services are very limited to Canada from Australia, there are ways of making the trips work. If you’re lucky enough to find Air Canada Business Class or Qantas Business take it and don’t look back. Connecting through Asia is seamless and it can be a good break in the journey and you can explore.

Zac is a teen who has been obsessed with travel since the age of 2. Now flying 200,000+ miles per year and blogging about luxury travel. Points From The Pacific is a blog that posts about the latest airline news, insights, reviews and guides to help travellers use their points to travel in first and business class.

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“As an example, here’s how many points it would cost to fly Cathay Pacific Business Class from Hong Kong:

American Airlines AAdvantage charge 72,500 points one-way”

you may wanna append the post a bit. AA miles don’t allow Aussie-HKG-Canada routing on a single ticket (but I believe UA does), so it’ll be 2 separate redemptions, far higher than the 72.5k listed above.

And one can realistically forget about awards on QF’s SYD-YVR seasonal service. By design, it’s flown to capture the peak demand of folks willing to pay top dollars willing to shell out cold hard cash.

I was able to secure TWO award tickets on the BNE -> YVR flight for my honeymoon (return flight) in October. I’m very excited to see the 787-9 product! It will be my first international business class experience! Booked with united miles.

One correction: All of Air Canadas 777 fleet had been updated with the same business class seat as the 787. The seat you are referring to on the 777-200 in the article is the old business class seat, which is only on the 767’s and A330’s now.

Air Canada business class on B777-200 is SHIT. My mother flew this service August last year, which I booked with then 80,000Krisflyer points. For the morning flight they only served breakfast, and for 11 hours had no service what so ever. On the return trip, taking Air NewZealand Business premier is exponentially better than air canada, most times only difference being 3-4 hours in travel time from Vancouver to Sydney. Even booking AirNewZealand one way full priced flights, are almost 40 to 50% cheaper, than booking QANTAS or Air Canada. Also if have some healthy AMEX MR points, can get discount on full ticketed flight if book online via AMEX travel. 100,000MR points equivalent to $1000AUD.